1. Via Dan Wickett, I found the The Quivering Pen, an excellent lit blog from David Abrams (an early member of Wickett's EWN who was stationed in Kuwait) which recently included a review of Brian Turner's (HERE, BULLET) poetry collection, PHANTOM NOISE. After reading this excerpt of the poem, "Insignia" I immediately added the book to my wishlist. 'Insignia" is written about a female soldier in combat who is hiding from a high-ranking NCO intent on raping her. Here's the bit from Abrams:

The narrative voice of the poem urges the staff sergeant to think twice about what he's intending to do. Take a smoke break, drink some of that gin your wife sent you "disguised in a bottle of mouthwash," take a deep breath before you go find your victim hiding beneath a truck in the motor pool:

while she waits. On a mattress of sand and foam, there
in the motor pool, she waits to kiss bullets into your mouth.

This is simply amazing. Horrible, but amazing.

2. From the Powells Blog, a look at the beauty of books as physical objects (something I have long subscribed to) which includes, surprisingly, Nora Roberts:

I read the first title, Vision in White, in an unfinished proof. When the book itself arrived on our shelves, I had to snatch it up because it was just so darned pretty. Not only did it have a cover photo that wasn't embarrassing to be seen with, but it had a cover with French flaps and a lovely texture and the pages had rough edges, mimicking the appearance of pages from old books that had to be hand-cut.

Give Roberts credit for making her Bridal Quartet series worthy of purchasing and gifting to new brides as objects themselves - and not just as romantic stories.

3. Tim Gunn talks design at Smithsonian Magazine:

When I was last at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, just seeing the new installation of the Fort McHenry flag was just absolutely awe-inspiring. I thought, what a great point of departure for a whole fashion project. I'm always saying to my students you need to know the national and international news, even the local news. You need to know what movies people are going to see. You need to know what books they are reading and downloading, what music they are listening to, what music videos they are seeing. Read everything, and look at everything. Then use your own filter to edit out what's either relevant to you or not relevant to you. Have these things as part of your being, part of your everyday navigation of the world.

4. Don't forget, "I See a Cover and Want To Paint It Black" over at Bookshelves of Doom.

[Post pic of US soldiers. According a survey in 2003, 30% of female solders in the U.S. were raped while in the military.]